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Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews | Jonathan Cott
8 posts | 5 read | 2 to read
Now in paperback -- the definitive collection of Bob Dylan's essential interviews from 1962 to the present Dylan expert and longtime Rolling Stone contributor Jonathan Cott has compiled thirty-one interviews that, taken together, present the public transformation of a brilliant young man evading fame and its attendant invasion of privacy into a seasoned professional who has learned how to impart truth to those questioning him without giving away too much of his private self. Included in Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews are all six major interviews Rolling Stone conducted with Dylan, by Jann S. Wenner, Mikal Gilmore, Kurt Loder, and Cott himself. Other highlights include Nat Hentoff's legendary 1966 Playboy interview with the singer; Studs Terkel's 1963 radio interview on Chicago's WFMT; the interview Dylan gave to screenwriter Jay Cocks when Cocks was a Kenyon College student in 1964; a 1965 interview with director Nora Ephron; and an interview that Sam Shepard turned into a one-act play for Esquire in 1987. Each piece portrays Bob Dylan as an interview subject who, as Cott writes in his introduction, is "at once obviously reluctant, self-protecting, and self-concealing but equally often a stunningly direct, heartfelt, epiphanic, poetic, and, most important, playful expositor of his munificent and inspiring thought-dreams."
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ladygrey
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Rainy day read ~

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134340
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I haven't been reading for such a long time, so I made this account in hopes I can get encouragement and suggestions.
I'll try and read this book to start.
I'll also try and do some rereads, since it's been so long.
Looking forward to talking to new people.

RaimeyGallant You've come to the right place! And welcome! #LitsyWelcomeWagon Some of us put together Litsy tips to help new Littens navigate the site. It's the link in my bio on my page in case you need it. Or if you prefer how-to videos, @chelleo put some together at the link in her bio. @LitsyWelcomeWagon 6y
Chelleo Hi and welcome! 6y
Eggs Welcome 👋🏻😊🌸 6y
134340 @Chelleo @Eggs thank you! ✨ 6y
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SarahKay
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Did you guys see who won the Nobel Prize in literature? What do you think?

mrsh62010 Personally, I love him. And I don't know much about the proper qualifications for this prize. So I'll just say congratulations, and thanks for your great words, Bob Dylan. 8y
Books_Wine_Repeat Such a great song and a great man! 🎶💕 8y
Biljana I think that the committee failed literature this year and am disappointed. This article describes it best for me... http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/opinion/why-bob-dylan-shouldnt-have-gotten-a-n... 8y
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jetspins24 @Biljana - I'm with you. I really like Bob Dylan's music, but something about this award going to him just doesn't sit right with me. Seems like they could have tried a little harder and given it to someone who was maybe less known or just overlooked, but still deserving of a literature award. No shortage of amazing writers, imo. 8y
SarahKay @Biljana @jetspins24 I'm with you guys too. Songwriting is really different from writing literature. I was rooting for Haruki Murakami, like I do every year. 8y
ineverlearn Irvine Welsh tweeted what I feel about this. It's a sad year for literature. :/ 8y
17 likes6 comments
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the_hibernator
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This year's Nobel Prize winner is Bob Dylan!

charl08 Loving the LT indignation / praise on this. 8y
the_hibernator @charl08 yeah, it's made quite the stir, hasn't it? I'm pretty ambivalent about it myself 8y
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MyBookLife
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Nope, no Bob Dylan. I love Bob Dylan, but I don't think he should win the #NobelPrize in literature. Music is not literature. What do you think?

BookishFeminist Disagree that music is not literature with the way that Bob Dylan uses literature in his music and the way it impacts culture. However, I completely agree that he shouldn't have won the Nobel. He's amazing, sure, but not with how many other options there are out there. This doesn't make sense to me. 8y
BookishFeminist To clarify, I believe music is literature because lyrics are a form of poetry. The music on top doesn't detract from, it only adds to, the poetic effect and spread of the art. 8y
MyBookLife @BookishFeminist In a sense it is literature, sure, but not in this context. Not for me. It is mainly music. I mean, how many have READ his songs? And if music is literature, what is music? Haha, I have a hard time explaining what I mean in english, but I hope you get what I mean (even if you don't agree). 8y
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MyBookLife @BookishFeminist I kind of agree. But I still think that a literature prize should be awarded to authors. Not someone who can perform at the MTV awards... 8y
BookishFeminist @MyBookLife You can read his songs. I've done so. His lyrics are genius. Still don't think he should have won but I disagree fully that music isn't poetry. Bob Dylan is an ICON in the US. People are very serious about studying him, not just listening to him. I think they should have a Nobel for music though bc it would recognize those that experiment with more than lyric as art form. 8y
BookishFeminist I don't think they were saying music is literature. I think they were saying that lyrics are literature because they are, just as spoken word is too. 8y
BookishFeminist And to add, I think lyricists and musicians are authors. As long as they write their own lyrics. It's no different than sitting down and writing a poem and can induce just as much turmoil. If you haven't done so I recommend reading some about Dylan's artistic process- he's a shitty musician to be honest. People listen to him for his lyrics. It's how he got his fan base. He is VERY serious about his lyric writing and he's not he first/last to be. 8y
EloisaJames Po Boy is one of the most complex meditations on white musical theft that I've ever read--interwoven with Othello and it's race murder and theft (remember those stories about his life that Othello had made up, with people carrying their heads)? He's astonishing 8y
EloisaJames Its, not it's 8y
dekabrista He is a poet. Why not appreciate poetry? 💕 8y
Christy2318 I think it is a weird choice & that there are lots of writers who would more appropriately win a prize for literature. I'm also not a Dylan fan & don't get the love. 8y
Sarahr875 I agree!! And I appreciate poetry, but I don't understand why Bob Dylan won over the others that could have won. 8y
Iamlisa22 So many are more deserving. Could be because I'm not a Dylan fan. 8y
MyBookLife @BookishFeminist I don't think I got my point across maybe, because I'm agreeing with you in what you say! I love Dylan, and have listened to his music and lyrics for 20 years. It's not that. I think he is a wonderful writer, and it is an artform, but not what I consider to fall under this category, to win the nobel prize for fiction. That's all. 8y
MyBookLife @dekabrista I do appreciate poetry. And maybe I'm living in a little box and refusing to look out, but for me this isn't poetry. He expresses himself through music. When Tomas Tranströmer won the nobel prize I was thrilled :) 8y
dekabrista I understand. On the other side: his music (melodies, singing) is nothing to get awards for 😎 For me always the lyrics, the expression of thoughts, were the main thing about him. 8y
dekabrista Ah, I see in a comment above, that you think in the terms of fiction ... 8y
MyBookLife @dekabrista No, I don't, it's just hard to express nuances in a second language :) Even if his strength is lyrics I don't feel like he should win the Nobel prize for it. At least not in this category. IMO this is not what this award is. I think they just wanted reactions, but again, I think this is the wrong place for that, in this context.. 8y
dekabrista It's great to disagree, isn't it? 🌸 8y
enidkeaner I think lyrics can be poetry and literature. 8y
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BookishFeminist
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The heck?? Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize for Literature??

I mean, I like his music & all (my family worships him like a cult), but this seems like an odd choice when there is literally a plethora of other better & more deserving choices out there imo.

Stats that highlight gender/racial disparity in Nobel winners: http://tinyurl.com/me4vogb

Also REALLY NOBEL COMMITTEE?! Women didn't do ANYTHING meritorious of a Nobel this year? Shame on you. 😠

Godmotherx5 I just saw that, too! I'm so confused. 8y
EloisaJames I teach some on his songs in Shakespeare &Pop Culture and he truly is a genius. 8y
BookishFeminist @Godmotherx5 I am too. I mean the literature prize doesn't have to go to book writers exclusively but this seems like a very weird choice than what they typically go for, especially when there are SO MANY amazing options out there with very storied careers. 8y
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scripturient Yes, just my opinion. 😳 8y
cariashley I was confused too, and am so curious to see what the response would be. I was rooting for Murakami. 8y
BookishFeminist @EloisaJames Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Bob Dylan. It's like cult worship in my family. But this choice to me pales in comparison to imo many/most other winners of this prize. 8y
EloisaJames I teach some of his songs in Shakespeare & Pop Culture and he truly is a genius in the ways he uses literature. 8y
BookishFeminist @cariashley Murakami would make a lot of sense to me. I've been rooting for Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o for years as well. Among many others. 8y
BillAicher I'm just hoping Dean Koontz wins album of the year at the Grammys. 🤔 8y
BookishFeminist @EloisaJames There are many other non old white dudes that do too, that's my point. I get that he's a genius, and like I said I love Bob Dylan, but he is not Nobel quality in my mind. 8y
BookishFeminist @BillAicher 😂😂 Or Murakami even! He has a jazz club in Japan after all. 8y
Seshat @BookishFeminist @BillAicher Murakami for Album of the Year. :) 8y
EloisaJames @BookishFeminist I would have agreed until I actually studied 3 of them. He is incredibly complex about race and American history, for example. Delicate and really brilliant (not that there aren't so many incredible writers who should win--yet another man here, for one thing) 8y
Marchpane I love controversial winners if for no other reason than it sparks some really fascinating conversations. 8y
BookishFeminist @EloisaJames I don't dispute that and I've done a fair bit of study on them too. My family's house may as well have been a shrine to Dylan growing up so I'm well aware of his brilliance and his commentary. But I don't have to agree that he's deserving of the Nobel and still think others should have won instead. Many others are complex about race and American history. 8y
BookishFeminist @Marchpane They should just have a Nobel for music and be done with it. 😂 i'd be 💯 behind that and it would be great recognition for artists that not only practice in lyric art form but also styles of music around the world. So enjoy my feed today, lol. I'm ticked about this. 8y
BookishFeminist @Donna_sBookMinute Right? My thoughts exactly. 8y
EloisaJames @BookishFeminist Nobel for music works for me! 8y
Abailliekaras They are different art forms aren't they? I just love the fact that it's controversial and Nobel isn't answerable to anyone, you can imagine the committee going 'ha! This will be fun.' 8y
BookishFeminist @Abailliekaras I don't think lyric writing is a different art form than literature per se if you look at the lyrics for what they are rather than the completed piece, but it certainly begs the question why words matter more than other forms of art & why we don't have prizes for those. 8y
BookishFeminist @Abailliekaras To clarify, he didn't win for music. He won purely on the merit of his lyrics divorced from the music. 8y
sofiaga I don't get it. I don't mean to be obtuse, but there are a lot of authors deserving of the Nobel 8y
BookishFeminist @sofiaga Completely agree, and ones who have had a large impact on their countries' respective social, moral, and political landscapes. 8y
sofiaga @BookishFeminist I am with you. I think he is a great artist and all, but I think they just went overboard with the creativity. 8y
amywithbooks I saw the announcement this morning and I was like "wow.... that's ridiculous." 8y
Abailliekaras @BookishFeminist oh I hadn't thought about it that way - so true. I don't know how the Nobel originated or why the categories exist, but yes certainly art and music ... Opening up a whole new debate. 8y
Moray_Reads What I object to is the fact that they can stretch the definition of literature so far but they can't stretch to a winner who isn't a white man 8y
BookishFeminist @Moray Yes exactly!! That's a large part of my beef with this. 8y
kristinshafel Totally. I'm disappointed too (and I'm a musician). Love Dylan, but yeah not for this. 8y
Christy2318 I think it is a weird choice. Song writing is it's own art form & I don't see how you can separate it from the music or call it literature. There are certainly lots of writers who would be more deserving of a literary prize imo. I'm also not a Dylan fan so I don't get the love for his work. 8y
BookishFeminist @Christy2318 Disagree that song writing is its own art form since it's a form of poetry. You can definitely divorce lyrics from the music (which is what they did for this- it's awarded on lyrics alone), and I think if you were to do it with any artist Dylan would be the one. I'm a huge fan of Dylan and have read/studied his lyrics extensively but don't think this prize awarded to him is fair for many reasons but do see lyrics as poetry nonetheless 8y
BookishFeminist @Christy2318 That said there are many components to music, lyrics of which are only one, and I think it's worth discussing why words are the only meritorious art form deserving of a prize. Why not create a prize for other art, including music? Then we can celebrate not just lyricists like Dylan but also those that develop unique musical styles around the world. 8y
BookishFeminist @kristinshafel Yes, agreed! I'm also a musician as is my entire family but this is really not ok in my opinion. It's like they felt they ran out of white dudes to award the prize to so they had to do something dramatic and still award it to one. 8y
LindsayReads Totally agree, @BookishFeminist . Bob Dylan is definitely a top artist for me (my email address is taken from a Dylan lyric, even), but this seems so lazy to me. Also, his prose stinks...I tried reading Chronicles and just. couldn't. do it. 8y
WoodyWoodson I dont think I have enough deep sighs/eyerolls for this today. I just can't understand this being awarded to him for literature. Ok, I definitely have enough deep sighs. Ugh. 8y
balletbookworm Yep. Agree on so many levels. 8y
Peterdamien It's a pretty great way to tell how many Baby Boomers are on the Nobel Prize committee, isn't it... 8y
hlgreenfield I've been having this argument with a huge Bob Dylan fan all afternoon! I get that he's a great artist, but his lyrics aren't that great so I can't really understand him winning a prize for literature! 8y
JenP Completely agree with you. I love Dylan but I don't get how they could pick him over any of the authors who were listed as top contenders. 8y
dcossai I agree! It's not that the Swedish Academy decided to award a songwriter - I'm fine with that. It's just that from a literary quality perspective he's just not good enough compared to other writers. 8y
Bibliogirl @Moray Exactly! 8y
BibliOphelia Soooooo with you! Go with Joni Mitchell if you have to do the songwriter thing, but books could use the attention, and writers the support. Like Bob needs another million. 🙄 8y
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nickgaston
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"Hey, it's not that they (protest songs) don't work anymore but have you ever thought of a place they DO work? What exactly DOES work?"

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literati
Pickpick

I'd do anything to crawl inside Bob Dylan's skull.

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